Economy

Capital markets hold the key to the future for the consolidating Wall Street landlords, but the path through is downright bloody.

Lenders and homebuyers should not expect further reductions in Federal Housing Administration's mortgage insurance premiums this year, according to Housing and Urban Development secretary Julian Castro.

As banks look to cuts costs and improve efficiency, many are actively trying to reduce the number of times they "touch" a loan file. The goal: get the application right the first time so it doesn't have to be sent back to the underwriter for time-consuming and costly fixes.

Fears that lower Federal Housing Administration premiums will negatively affect private mortgage insurance firms are overblown. If anything, the plan should be a modest positive for the overall housing market.

Wirecard, an electronic payments company based in Germany, has partnered with Bank Mega to provide retailer Carrefour Indonesia with point of sale technology.

The Supreme Court gave homeowners more ability to cancel their mortgages if lenders don't provide the required disclosures, in a setback for the banking industry.

The insurance provider MetLife said it will file a lawsuit Tuesday to challenge its designation as a systemically important financial institution, arguing the Financial Stability Oversight Council erred in making the determination.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is launching a toolkit on Tuesday that will help consumers shop for a mortgage by finding the best rates in their area based on data the agency gathers from lenders.

Freddie Mac in the next month plans to approve three more lenders, including one bank, to make multifamily loans between $1 million and $5 million for GSE purchase and securitization, according to an official. Banks were not initially courted.

Online lending marketplaces claim that they will revolutionize the financial services industry. But financial companies need a lot more than high-tech prowess to achieve sustained success.

Even is building a mobile money-management service for baristas, Lyft drivers, freelancers and others with unpredictable incomes. For $5 a week, users can draw advances on paychecks during rough patches.

The extended leave of Starbucks' chief operating officer, Troy Alstead, could indicate that last year's creation of the COO post has succeeded in furthering the coffee chain's mobile payments initiatives.

One of the clearest things that sets Apple Pay apart from other mobile wallets is its incorporation of Touch ID fingerprint recognition. Now that Apple has opened up Touch ID to outside developers, the fingerprint tech is spreading throughout — and in some cases beyond — Apple's ecosystem.

A San Diego-based debt collector has agreed to pay $675,000 in civil penalties and give up $18 million won in court fights against 4,500 consumers, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Friday.

As with any marriage, banks that forge alliances with tech companies need to make sure they really know their partners. They may also want to consider a prenup.

Traditional merchant acquirers have faced disruption from a number of new entrants in recent years from companies such as Square and its peers. And now, a football team is getting into the game.

The company said in a press release Thursday that it redeemed preferred shares worth $76.46 million that were issued under the program to the Treasury Department.

Home values have risen fastest in markets where institutional buyers bought up scores of foreclosed homes and then rented them out. But these investor have largely curtailed their buying, and may even be ready to start selling off more properties to profit from the run-up in home prices. That could be good news for first-time buyers.

Mortgage denials in 2013 were comparable to those recorded a decade ago, analyses of HMDA data show, challenging perceptions about how easy lending really was during the era of "pulse" loans and "fog-a-mirror finance."

Leaders of smaller banks optimistic about the growth prospects of small-business loans in 2015, but they are equally worried about increased competition from larger banks, nonbanks and credit unions.